Arrows x Hairpins
by overcaffeinated scrawlings
Summary: A collection of drabbles featuring Uryu Ishida and Orihime Inoue, set mostly before or during the Soul Society arc. R&R is much appreciated!
1. Locks

"You know, I've never seen hair quite that color before

"You know, I've never seen hair quite that color before."

They get on by talking about the first subjects that jump into their minds. Nights in the Seretei are cold and lonely, and she refuses to sleep and let him keep watch. In these discussions in the darkness, they discuss everything. He wonders if he knows her better than his own father. He wonders if he's happy about this.

"People used to tease me about it all the time, actually."

"Tease you? But everybody lov—everyone at school is really friendly to you, Inoue-san."

"It wasn't always that way. This one girl…"

She recounts the tale of the year she was twelve, when her hair was cut off by a classmate. Being the eternal optomist, she leveled out the rough cut, grinned, and dealt with it.

He, in his memories of this particular night, vaguely recalls wanting to kill whoever did that to her.

"I think your hair is beautiful."

She doesn't say anything and awkward silence permeates the night. Finally, he tells her to get some rest. "We have a long day tomorrow."

He thinks he's offended her, or freaked her out.

That night, Orihime Inoue falls asleep smiling, the blush still fading from her cheeks.


	2. Fifty Words For a Love

**Motion**

She was clumsy, but that was okay – he was always there to catch her.

**Cool**

Around Orihime, he felt no need to act "cool"—she acted nerdier than him at times, in a completely endearing way.

**Young**

"I miss being a little kid sometimes… not worrying what people think all the time," she said, and he thought he knew _exactly_ what she meant.

**Last**

He couldn't help thinking that if he died right now, he'd spend his last second next to her, seeing her smiling face.

**Wrong**

He knew it was wrong, because it was obvious that she was in love with Ichigo, but sometimes he just wanted to grab her and kiss her.

**Gentle**

A gentle hand on her shoulder woke her—"It's time to get up."

**One**

Though there were dozens in the Seiretei with them, sometimes she felt like he was the only thing keeping her from being utterly alone.

**Thousand**

One smile from her was better than a thousand revenges.

**King**

"Checkmate!"—they had taken to playing chess with various pennies that Orihime had found in her pocket.

**Learn**

If there was one thing she had learned, it was that there was so much more to this boy than a bow and a pair of glasses.

**Blur**

He wondered if after this ordeal, they would never see eachother again, her face becoming only a blur of times past in his dreams.

**Wait**

A feeling—it couldn't be jealousy, it _couldn't_ be—twisted in his stomach when Orihime decided to wait for Ichigo instead of walking with him.

**Change**

And maybe she was seeing things, but it seemed that the Quincy was losing his cold edge—changing into a relatable… loveable… human being.

**Command**

"As you wish," he said under his breath when she asked him to pull her to her feet.

**Hold**

He had nice hands—she wondered if she would ever have the chance to hold them.

**Need**

Like oxygen and food, she realized that his company had become a necessity.

**Vision**

"You look cute in my glasses," he said, "as far as I can tell—but you're wearing them, so it's a bit hard to see."

**Attention**

At times, her expressive brown eyes and enthusiasm reminded him of a puppy begging for attention.

**Soul**

_Maybe when we get old and die, we'll meet again here_, Uryu thought as he surveyed the outer Soul Society.

**Picture**

Looking at a picture of the two, even a fool would have realized that they were in love.

**Fool**

_Why do I always fall for guys I'll never be good enough for?_

**Mad**

_I'm going crazy—there's no way she would ever like me_.

**Child**

Uryu's social experience was at about the level of a particularly sheltered seven-year-old, which entertained Orihime to no end.

**Now**

_If I could live forever in this moment, I'd be happy_, he thought, as he watched her sleep.

**Shadow**

Looking back, it was as if before, Uryu's true self had been hidden in shadow, and it had taken Orihime to turn on the spotlight.

**Goodbye**

_I didn't say goodbye to Inoue-san—_he thought as he sank to the ground, his glove clutched in his hand.

**Hide**

_She always seems so happy, but I know she's hiding her sadness_…

**Fortune**

Uryu had forgotten this, but a few days before he met Orihime, he had received a fortune cookie that said "A new friend will bring meaning and joy into your life."

**Safe**

She had woken up crying in the night once, from a bad dream, and he had held her hand until she fell asleep, whispering, "Don't worry, you're safe with me."

**Ghost**

She was surprised to find that only a ghost of her former feelings for Ichigo remained—now her heart was set on a certain bespectacled Quincy.

**Book**

_I know her so well that I can read her emotions like a book,_ Uryu thought.

**Eye**

Orihime hadn't noticed it before, but behind his glasses, Uryu certainly did have beautiful eyes.

**Never**

Suprisingly for such a cute girl, Uryu was shocked to learn that Orihime had never actually kissed a boy.

**Sing**

When she finally _had_ kissed a boy, the said boy was happy enough to burst into a rendition of "She Loves You," by the Beatles, but decided against it.

**Sudden**

She had expected to come to the Soul Society to rescue Rukia—suddenly, she'd fallen in love, too.

**Stop**

After about two days of unrelenting new-couple cuteness, Yoruichi finally asked the two to _please_ stop with the hand-holding and blushing, and that they should "just go get a room for heaven's sake, if you're not going to help with the rescue."

**Time**

_Time slows down_, Orihime thought, _when I'm holding his hand._

**Wash**

One drawback of being in a relationship with Orihime- she was obsessive about hand-washing and scolded Uryu every time he forgot to use soap after meals.

**Torn**

_It's nice_, Orihime thought, _dating a boy who sews—and it's less expensive than going to a tailor_.

**History**

Though she dismissed it as "just silly history," Uryu still wanted to murder anyone who had ever teased Orihime in middle school.

**Power**

Maybe the others noticed it and maybe they didn't, but Orihime's Shun Shun Rikka were always stronger when Uryu was fighting alongside her.

**Bother**

Something that she learned about him: he hated to be bothered when he was sewing.

**God**

Something that he learned about her: she was convinced, after anagramming the word, that God was of the canine persuasion.

**Wall**

_Uryu's built up so many walls around himself_, Orihime thought_, I'm surprised I'm able to break them down._

**Naked**

Another thing she learned about him: he twitched whenever he heard the word "naked"—or maybe it was only when the word was used to refer to her.

**Drive**

Another thing he learned about her: she didn't drive, or even want to—her bicycle was good enough (and more energy-efficient to boot.)

**Harm**

Uryu would worry himself to pieces over the smallest things, so when Orihime almost broke her arm in gym class, he devoted three whole days to baking all sorts of get-well treats for her—though he was a terrible cook.

**Precious**

Some of her mannerisms were altogether _too_ precious, but he could learn to live with it.

**Hunger**

She found that when he wasn't with her, she missed that feeling of being loved, and missed it like a voracious hunger.

**Believe**

And, looking back, Uryu couldn't believe how far they had come: from being perfect strangers to being… almost perfect.


	3. Swing, Swing

IshiHime drabble 1

Prompt: Swing

**Ten years ago...**

"Higher, Sora-nii-san! Higher!"

The young boy glanced over towards the playground, where a girl about his age clung to the chains of her swing as she sailed back and forth above the cement. A tall, black-haired young man of about twenty was pushing her, a slight smile flitting across his face.

The boy watched them with curious interest, stopping in spite of the fact that his father was still walking. From the sidewalk on the hill above the park, he could see them, see how much fun the small family was having. A perplexed look settled itself on his dimiutive features. _Why is she so happy just because she's swinging? What a strange girl._

The girl's summer-orange hair flew through the air behind her, small blue pins holding it behind her ears. Her eyes were closed, her face tilted upwards to the sun. Her mouth twitched with laughter.

"Uryu, hurry up," his father said sharply, turning towards his son. "I have guests coming for dinner tonight, and I can't be late because of you."

The boy made no move to start moving again. His feet felt rooted to the sidewalk. His eyes refused to leave the smiling little girl's face.

"What are you looking at, son?"

"Nothing!" The young boy shook his head as if to clear it of his thoughts. "I'm coming, Dad." He hurried to catch up to his father, the girl temporarily displaced from his mind.

He wouldn't remember - he never remembered his dreams - but that girl would continue, in his dreams, to swing across his memory like she had across the sky.


End file.
